


What we are pt 14

by AXEe



Series: What we are [14]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Bioterrorism, F/F, F/M, Family, Project Cadmus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-24
Updated: 2017-09-29
Packaged: 2018-11-18 08:59:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 9,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11287977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AXEe/pseuds/AXEe
Summary: Sometimes, the deadliest killers, are the ones we can't see... AU of "Medusa"





	1. Infected

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Welcome to chapter one of Part FOURTEEN of What we are! Man I am on a roll with this today! I've already posted one entire installment in the series and here's the next part. Oh, well, I ain't questioning it, I'm just going to enjoy it while it lasts and so, I hope, are you :=). Also, I haven't actually seen "Medusa", so I'm just basing this on what I've read (and from what I read, it sounds like I didn't miss much, ACK! Mon-El!!!!)
> 
> Anyways, ONWARDS!!!

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Time it took us  
To where the water was  
That’s what the water gave me  
And time goes quicker  
Between the two of us  
Oh, my love, don’t forsake me  
Take what the water gave me

Lay me down  
Let the only sound  
Be the overflow

\--Florence + the Machine: “What The Water Gave Me”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Alex**

Astra’s hand was hot and clammy in my own as I hurried alongside the gurney, she had already sweated through her clothes and her skin was actually hot to the touch, not that natural warmth that Kryptonians seemed to have here on Earth, but feverish hot

“Temperature’s one hundred and two and climbing!” I reported as we burst into the infirmary

“All right, get some ice in here,” Dr. Hamilton barked out “first things first, we need to get her temperature down” merging with the gaggle of nurses I helped grab several large bags of ice from the infirmary’s industrial-sized freezer and helped the pile them on Astra’s body, even as a nurse prepped an IV, the needle easily sliding into Astra’s arm

“IV’s in”

“All right, prep a saline solution,” Dr. Hamilton ordered “we need to get this fever down!” she barked as the nurses began to cut Astra’s clothes off and hooking her up to vital monitors

“BP’s dropping!” someone called out as Astra began to jerk slightly, her eyes fluttering. I gasped as I saw a familiar glow began to build under her eyelids

“EVERYBODY BACK!!!” I ordered as Astra suddenly arched off the bed, her eyes flying open as a blast of heat vision obliterated the overhead lights in shower of sparks “DOWN! DOWN!” I ordered as the blast suddenly flickered out and Astra flopped back on the gurney

“GET THOSE FIRES OUT!” J’onn bellowed from the hall as agents in full firefighting gear and armed with extinguishers marched in and blasted the ceiling with co2

“Dr. Danvers?” I looked up to see a nurse pointing at Astra’s vitals. Her temperature had dropped by about ten degrees, still too high for comfort, but better

“What the hell was that?” someone asked. I looked up at the still-smoldering ceiling

“A sneeze,” I realized, the heat in her body had reached a point to where her body couldn't stand it anymore, and unlike Humans, who just sweat it out, Astra's body had a way of bleeding off that excess heat “let’s get a blood draw, check for anything out of the ordinary,” I ordered “I want to know what the fuck Cadmus injected her with…”


	2. Medusa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One look into the eyes of Medusa and you die...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're back! That's right, your eyes do not deceive you, Part Fourteen of What we are is back! Enjoy! :=)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

And, oh, poor Atlas  
The world’s such a beast of a burden  
You’ve been holding up a long time  
And all this longing  
And the ships are left to rust  
That’s what the water gave us

\--Florence + the Machine: “What The Water Gave Me?”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Alex**

“Report” J’onn barked as he came over where I was helping the medical staff set up heavy-duty plastic sheeting, sealing off the infirmary from the rest of the base

“As near as I can figure from Astra’s preliminary blood work its some kind of virus or bacteria,” I explained “Cadmus must’ve deliberately given it to her when they injected her, that’s probably why they tricked her into draining her powers, a needle in a vein is still the best way of contracting a disease”

“What about Supergirl and her mother?”

“Kara and Alura also appeared to be infected but so far don’t show any symptoms yet,” I explained “we’re quarantining them regardless,” I added, nodding to where a group of figures in full HAZMAT suits were scrubbing a nude Alura and Kara down with a mix of soap, water, and bleach before ushering them into one of the isolation labs, slapping a large BIOHAZARD sticker on the glass as the doors shut “hopefully,” I added “the reason why they aren’t showing any symptoms yet means that they’re immure and that we can use that to help Astra”

“What effect does this virus have on Humans?” J’onn asked

“I’ll let you know when I find out what it does to Kryptonians” I grumbled

“Any idea on how to stop it?” J’onn asked

I shook my head “Whatever it is its very resultant, we’ve been pumping Astra full of antibiotics and antiserums but so far no effect,” I nodded towards the other iso lab, where Astra lay on a gurney still shivering and trembling despite the sedatives we’d given her “if we don’t find a cure soon…” I trailed off, not wanting to think about that yet

“This wasn’t your fault, Alex” J’onn reminded me as I started to walk away

“I know,” I sighed “I wish that made me feel better”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

We’d moved Astra to her own room after we got her stable. So far she was still unconscious. She looked…small on the gurney, her skin still frighteningly pale as she still shook and trembled slightly despite the sedative we’d given her, she seemed to suffer from chills and had since broken out in an ugly, shingles-like rash.

The surgical gloves I was wearing creaked on my hands as I slipped into the room, the doors hissing shut behind me while a sign on the wall blinked on ‘NEGATIVE PRESSURE’ it read, air could come into the room freely, but it couldn’t leave the room. Protective booties slipping my feet, I came over to her bedside, awkwardly slipping my thick gloved fingers around her hand, wishing I could feel her hand in my own, but until we knew what this bug did to Humans, it was better safe than sorry

“That’s an interesting outfit” I looked up to see Astra weakly open her eyes

“Hey,” I grinned behind the surgical mask covering my nose and mouth “how are you feeling?” I asked

“Terrible,” she answered “be honest, how sick am I?”

“Not too bad,” I lied “you’ve got a bit of a temperature and your white blood cell count is elevated”

“Which means that I have a very high fever and my white blood cell count is off the charts,” she chuckled dryly “don’t lie to me, love,” she smirked “I’ll always be better at it than you”

I bit my lip as I squeezed her hand tighter “We’re hoping that the sunlamps will give your immune system a boost,” I explained, gesturing to the sunlamps set up around her bed “help you fight it off on your own, since the nanobots in your bloodstream don’t seem to be working”

“Nanocytes,” she corrected “and they’re designed to repair cell damage, not fight disease”

“Good to know” I muttered

“The sunlamps aren’t working either, are they?” she asked quietly

“No” I answered

“Alex,” she sighed “I have every faith in you and your talents that you will find a cure,” she began “but, if, you don’t—”

“Astra, stop, don’t think like that, all right?” I interrupted

“Alex,” she sighed “if you don’t succeed— _if_ —then—” I shook my head

“No, because you’re going to get better, and you’re going to get your ass off of this gurney yourself and we— _we_ —are going to have a wonderful wedding. Together” I vowed

She just smiled weakly and squeezed my hand. Not believing me for a second…  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“How is she?” Kara asked as I knocked on the door to the iso lab, where she and Alura were sitting, both looking half nuts with boredom and worry

“She’s stable for now,” I answered “but…” I trailed offf

“She isn’t getting well…is she?” Alura asked softly

I shook my head “No, not yet,” I answered “you can’t see her, Alura,” I told her “neither of you can,” I added “whatever this virus is it ran through her immune system in _under an hour_. There’s no telling what it’ll do to you”

“But, you said that we weren’t showing any symptoms,” Kara pointed out “that we might be immune”

“You ‘might’ be,” I reminded her “ _might_ be, we don’t know for sure. Not yet anyway”

“You’ll find a cure,” Kara said, grinning shyly at me “you’re the smart one, remember?” she teased

“Kara is right,” Alura nodded “I have every faith in your ability _inah_ ,” I blinked as I realized that she had actually called me ‘daughter’ in Kryptonese “you will find a cure” she swore, and the _look_ on her face, on both of their faces, god, it was complete and utter faith, almost to the point of blind faith. To them, and especially to Kara, I was invincible, I _would_ find a cure for Astra, no question. Seeing that kind of faith was both awe-inspiring and terrifying, I’m not used to being the one to inspire

I only wished I had that level of faith in myself.

“Alex!” Winn suddenly came skidding over, gasping for breath, looking like he might just pass out right then and there “problem!” he gasped out “Command!”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Sir?” I asked as I jogged into Command. J’onn looked over at me, his face grim

“We just got a report that dozens of aliens around the city have started getting sick,” he explained “many of them are showing similar symptoms to Astra’s” he added

“Cadmus” I growled

“That’s what it looks like,” Lucy nodded “detective Sawyer just called, almost all of the aliens at the bar just collapsed about five minutes ago” she explained as the monitors suddenly started flickering, images of Supergirl and Superman flying by

“Here we go. Right on time” Winn muttered to my left as a familiar, ghostly face appeared on the monitors

“ _We have struck the first blow,_ ” the distorted voice proclaimed “ _we have sent the invaders a message that their presence here will no longer be tolerated,_ ” images of fires, riots and what looked like archival footage from the Holocaust flashed by “ _this is as Charles Darwin predicted, survival of the fittest. We have shown our superiority against the invaders. Rejoice in your deliverance and salvation. Behold…Medusa_ ”


	3. Fever

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're back! Yes, dear reader, Part Fourteen of What we are is finally back! Enjoy! :=)
> 
> (Warning, gets a little dark and gruesome in here)

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Lay me down  
Let the only sound  
Be the overflow  
Pockets full of stones  
Lay me down

\--Florence + the Machine: “What the Water Gave Us”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Astra**

_I was burning. Fire all around me, lashing at my already-battered flesh, tearing at my scars and wounds, rending them open as i marched through a feild of dead, an endless landscape littered with corpses_

_But I pushed on; I kept walking, walking across stones which cut and tore at my bare feet, leaving bloody footprints in my wake as I pressed on_

_“Why do you persist, Astra?” Indigo swirled out of the flames to stand before me, her lips pulled in a wide, manic grin “why keep going?” she asked as she circled me “look at you,” she gestured to my form “burned, bruised…broken,” she chuckled “why keep going?”_

_Ignoring her, I pressed on…_  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Alex**

I groaned as I rubbed my eyes, the image of the virus in the microscope was starting to blur

“Alex, you need to rest” Mom’s voice said from behind me

“I’m fine, Mom” I answered

“You can barely stand,” she countered “at least take a break and eat something”

“I SAID I’M FINE!!” I roared as I spun around to face her. She gripped my shoulders hard and gave me a quick, firm, but gentle, shake

“ _No. You’re not_ ” she said. I felt myself start to shake, and she pulled me close without a word, holding me as I shook and quietly sobbed into her shoulder

“It was _so_ ….perfect, Mom!” I heard myself sob “everything! And now….now I’m going to lose her!”

“No, you’re not,” she repeated firmly as she pulled away and looked me square in the eye “you are _not_ going to give up, Alex. If your father was here, he’d tell you the same”

“But he’s _not_ here, Mom!” I growled “and now I’m going to lose Astra too, Kara even”

“Once you hit bottom…” she began, smiling softly “remember?”

“….’the only other way to go is up’.” I finished, remembering that, and dozens of other bits of folksy wisdom Dad always had on hand, ready to be said at just the right moment, I could never figure out where he got them from—most of the time he sounded like a fortune cookie (a bad one at that)—but every time he said something like that, it always worked, always solved whatever problem that I or Kara had, in some way….  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

‘Cause they took your loved ones  
But returned them in exchange for you  
But would have it any other way?  
Would have it any other way?  
You couldn’t have it any other way

‘Cause she’s a crueler mistress  
And the bargain must be made  
But, oh my love, don’t forget me  
When I let the water take me

\--Florence + the Machine: “What the Water Gave Us”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Astra**

_I fell through more fire, more stinging shards of icy glass, until I finally landed hard, felt my bones break with the impact, felt myself stagger upright through the pain and take in my surroundings. I was on that rooftop, the one where I found my redemption in Alex. Looking down I felt the knife in my hand, saw J’onn on his knees at my feet, saw the point of the blade pressed to his throat_

_I stepped back. Why would I harm him? A friend, an ally, a trusted comrade in arms, a kindred soul? What purpose would it serve? None_

_But then the burning suddenly returned, ripping through my body suddenly and sharply. Looking down, I stared at the bright green kryptonite blade which had burst from my body, I gasped, choked, tried to scream, to shout, to pled, to beg with the only person who could have done it, to ask, to know WHY?_

_I choked, gagging as I felt my lungs fill with blood as the blade was twisted before being wrenched free. I felt myself fall, reaching out towards Alex as she stood over me, the blade still dripping with my blood._

_Desperately, I clawed at the air, trying to reach her, wondering why, why, her eyes were so cold, so callous_

_So dead?_

_“Why?” I pleaded, still reaching for her, but she kicked my hand away, a look of utter contempt and disgust on her features_

_“Monster,” she hissed “killer, murder. That’s all you are, that’s all you’ll ever be”_

_She raised the blade high, ready to stab it down into me, and I screamed in pure and utter terrror…._


	4. Exposed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update! Enjoy! :=)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Alex**

Mom and I both looked up at a sudden, terrified _shriek_ from the isolation lab, the kind of scream that can only come from your worse nightmares

“Astra!” I burst out into the hallway, following a small army of doctors and nurses as they charged into the iso lab. I felt my blood run cold at the image of Astra wildly thrashing on the gurney, screaming and shouting in Kryptonese, clearly trapped in a massive fever-induced delusion

“Hold her!” someone yelled as the doctors and nurses frantically tried to pin her down, to keep her from hurting herself. But, I’ll say this for Astra, she’s a fighter. In a massive crash the _entire gurney_ suddenly tipped onto its side, Astra frantically scrambling up, struggling to stand, still caught in a delusion.

Grunting, I lunged, tackling her to the floor

 _ **“GET ME A FUCKING SEDATIVE NOW! GODDAMN IT!!!”**_ I roared as I tried to hold her still, wrapping my arms and legs around her in a full nelson, even as she kicked and squirmed like an animal. Working one arm free, I grabbed the syringe, yanked the cap off with my teeth, and plunged into her arm

“Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep,” I pleaded quietly as she kept kicking “ _pleasepleasepleaseplease!_

Finally with a tired sigh, she started to go limp….  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Astra**

_As the sword lashed down at me, fire bursting from its surface to scorch my skin and boil my blood, every fiber of my being burning, I screamed, I begged, I pleaded with Alex to stop, to forgive me for my sins, to love me once again. But gave me no quarter, no mercy, her arm never faltered, her aim true as she drove the blade into me again and again, fire lashing against my shattered and broken bones, against my frayed and burning nerves, my blood boiling within my veins_..

 _And finally, finally, just when I thought I would finally break, the ground gave way beneath me and I fell into sweet, pure, oblivion…_  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Alex**

I gasped with relief as Astra finally went totally limp, her breathing shallow and steady

“All right, let’s get her back on the bed”

I collapsed back onto the floor with a sigh as the army of nurses and doctors gently lifted Astra off me and eased her down onto the gurney. I felt my stomach twist as I saw them quickly secure her wristas and ankles to the bed, even though I knew it was for her own good, to prevent, something like this from happening again

“Alex?” Dr. Hamilton held out a hand towards me, suddenly freezing I reached for her

“What is it?” I asked

In answer, she turned back to the other doctors

“Get me a full decon and containment in here now!” she ordered as she turned back to me “you’re bleeding Alex” she told me. Looking down, I felt a chill go through me as I saw the large, bleeding cut on my hand, i must have gotten it when i had been tussling with Astra.

Which meant that I had just been exposed to Medusa….


	5. Burn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're back!!!! That's right, Part Fourteen of What we are is finally being updated! Enjoy! :=)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Alex**

I winced as the antiseptic bubbled and frothed on my palm

“You’re lucky that this happened in an iso lab, Alex,” Dr. Hamilton muttered from behind her mask as she wound the thick gauze around my hand “we’ll still need a blood draw to confirm you’re not infected” she reminded me

“I know” I nodded

“How are you doing?” she asked suddenly as she snapped off her latex gloves and threw them away. I was a little startled at the question. Unlike Vasquez, who’s always been friendly, Dr. Hamilton has always, in my experience anyway, been extremely professional, she never talks about her family and never asks _you_ about _your_ family

“I’m…OK, I guess,” I answered “how about you?” I asked

She smirked, reaching under her shirt and pulling out a locket, opening it. The picture was of her, a man I assumed to be her husband, and a little boy who I assumed was their son “They don’t know what I do,” she explained quietly “they think I work at the hospital”

I didn’t know what to say. So, instead, I wrapped my hand around hers, squeezing tightly “You’ll get back to them, Amelia” I promised

She squeezed back “I hope so” she muttered…  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Astra**

_Fire surrounded me, crowds of leering people jeered and screamed at me as I was half-dragged half-led towards a wooden platform. I knew this place. Neither Earth or Krypton, but somewhere in between_

_A man strode forward, brandishing a heavy stick towards my face “You stand accused of the most heinous of crimes,” he proclaimed “how do you plead?”_

_”How can I plead if I don’t know the charges?” I challenged. The crowed screamed louder, booing and jeering at me as they hurled rocks and sticks at me. The man, obviously the leader, all but shook with rage_

_“TAKE HER!!!” he roared. The two guards holding me tightened their grips and dragged me towards a large wooden post_

_I kicked and struggled as I suddenly realized where I was_ what _I was being accused of “No!” I twisted in the guards’ grips futility “no! I’m innocent!” I cried as they swiftly tied me to the post. The same man approached, now holding a burning torch_

 _”Let the witch burn!” he proclaimed as he set pyre at my feet ablaze…_  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Alex**

Rounding the corner to my lab, I stopped at the sight before me

“Winn?” I asked “what are you doing?”

He looked up from the microscope “Oh, hey,” he gave me a shy little wave “uh…well, you’re Mom’s in the cafeteria, so, uh, I’d thought I’d pitch in” he shrugged

“Winn, do you even know anything about microbiology or bioengineering?” I asked

“No,” he admitted “but, I’m learning,” he held up one of my old textbooks. He sighed “look, you’re not only one who has someone they at stake her, OK? Kara and Astra are my friends, and Alura…well, she’s important to me and Lucy. So, please, just give me a chance, all right?”

I sighed. I could’ve have just thrown him out, in fact considering what happened a few minutes later, I probably should have. But…damn it, he looked so sincere “What have you found out so far?”

He brightened “Well, our bug here doesn’t seem to be mutating, at least not like most viruses”

I nodded “And considering that it only affects aliens means it’s probably manmade,” I figured “something that Cadmus’ crazy doctors cooked up”

“Right,” Winn nodded “but, look at this,” he pulled up a video on the monitor “your Mom and I took a gamble and exposed a test rat to a sample of Astra’s blood”

“Did it get superpowers or something?” I smirked

“No. Although wouldn’t that be cool?” he chuckled “no, just watch,” on the screen the rat twitched from the injection. Then it suddenly sat up on its haunches, whiskers twitching, before it suddenly jerked and collapsed.

Winn slowly turned to me “It _is_ mutating,” he explained “that’s an Earth rat, Medusa shouldn’t have affected it at all. But that rat _died_ less than an hour later,” he explained, pausing to cough “sorry, I guess--” he broke off, coughing harder. And as I watched a familiar rash began creeping up his neck

“Winn, did you use gloves and a mask when you touched that rat?” I asked

“Of course,” he coughed, wobbling slightly “I’m not an idiot,” he moaned, holding his head “oh, boy, I don’t feel good”

“It’s airborne,” I realized “damn it! Medusa’s airborne now!” turning I lunged, slamming my hand down on the alarm switch. Alarms suddenly screamed as heavy bulkheads suddenly slammed into place

“ _Attention. The DEO is now under maximum quarantine. No one may leave the premises_ ” the PA announced as Winn suddenly collapsed

“I need some help in here!!” I yelled as I check his temperature. He was burning up…


	6. Crossroads

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update! Enjoy! :=)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

And it’s peaceful in the deep  
Cathedral where you cannot breathe  
No need to pray no need to speak  
Now I am under all

\--Florence + the Machine: "Never Let Me Go"  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Alex**

“ _Despite the initial claims of the anti-alien terrorist group Cadmus. It now appears that the bioweapon known as ‘Medusa’ is now affecting_ humans _as well as aliens. Just within the last hour, local hospitals have been admitting dozens of patients and expect to admit dozens more in the hours to come…_ ”

“ _…reports of widespread looting and riots have already broken out in areas surrounding the alien bar where the outbreak first happened…_ ”

“ _…if you experience the following symptoms, please, go to the emergency room immediately …_ ”

“ _…Governor Jerry Brown has already put in a call to the National Guard to support of the already depleted NCPD…_ ”

“ _…just moments ago, the National Guard and the Army announced that all roadways leading to and from National City are being barricaded…_ ”

“ _…National City is now under quarantine_ ”

I groaned and turned away from the news reports. They all told the same thing: we were royally fucked. Trudging away from the frighteningly-empty command, I slipped into the infirmary wing, Kara and Alura smiled at me weakly, but even they looked worse for wear, the virus was affecting them too, just slower than it did Astra or Winn, they were already running mild fevers and Alura had developed the rash like Astra had. J’onn had also been affected and now lay in small isolation lab, apparently asleep.

I found Lucy outside Winn’s room. Out of the entire base, she and I seemed to be only ones who had fully succumbed to the virus’ effects, and even then, we weren’t immune, we both tested positive for it, it was happily swimming in our veins, it was just that neither of us were feeling the effects of it yet, that was all

“How is he?” I asked

Lucy sighed “He’s not doing well,” she began “according to Dr. Hamilton his fever’s still rising and his lungs are filling with fluid. Like pneumonia, only worse,” she took a shuddering breathe “he’s dying, Alex,” she whispered “and I can’t even hold his hand,” she shook her head “how’s Astra?”

“Bad,” I answered, my voice sounding hollow and cold “I think she’s giving up. Losing the will to fight back. She’s been through hell and back so many times that I think she just can’t take another trip”

“She’s strong,” Lucy nodded “she’ll come back”

“So’s Winn” I reminded her. She bit her lip and then suddenly sagged against me, and all I could do was hold her…  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Astra**

_“Still persisting, I see”_

_I weakly looked up at the voice, feeling my burned and tortured flesh crack and splinter as I did. The pyre had since burned down, the crowd dispersed, their fun over. All that remained was my charred corpse_

_“Non” I rasped out as he stood before me “come to me see off?” I wondered. He smirked as Indigo suddenly appeared next to him, winding an arm around his shoulders_

_”How does it feel, Astra?” she hissed “how does feel to be hated and feared? To have people crying out for you to die?” she slowly approached me, drawing an arm back. She grinned wide and manic at me “good bye Astra,” she hissed “give my regards to the dinosaurs”_

_With that she plunged her hand down at my chest…_  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Alex**

I looked up as an alarm sounded from Astra’s room. Turning I watched as she suddenly arched her back, gagging, before she suddenly went limp, her heart monitor flatlining

“No, no, no,” I rushed into the room alongside Dr. Hamilton and Mom “no! You can’t _do_ this to me! Not now!” I screamed as a pair of nurses held me back

“Get the crash cart! Charge for defib!” Dr. Hamilton ordered…  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Astra**

_“GET UP!!” a voice suddenly screamed. Weakly lifting my head, I found myself on a dusty, rocky terrain. Indigo standing above me, holding me down_

_“Astra!!! Get up, damn it!!” weakly lifting my head, I saw the source of the voice_

_“Jeremiah Danvers” I whispered. At least, in the next world, I would have pleasant company_

_“Astra! I can’t help you here!” he cried “you have to get up!”_

_I felt Indigo’s fingers suddenly dig into the back of my neck “Why listen to him?” she purred “hmm? What’s out there for you? More pain? More suffering? More death? No…better to just let go, isn’t it?”_

_She was right, I knew, better to leave things alone, stop trying to be the hero. Just give up…_  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Alex**

“Still no response!”

“Keep trying! Damn it!” Dr. Hamliton snarled

“Doctor, we’re losing her!”

“Three hundred joules! Clear!”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Astra**

_“Don’t listen to her, Astra,” Jeremiah urged “you have to get up! Get up!”_

_“Why?” I whispered “she’s right, what is there for me?”_

_“What about Alex? what about Kara?” he urged “think about how they’ll feel if they lose you now, Astra! You all have both been through hell and back! You stopped Hank Henshaw, you stopped Myriad, you stopped Metallo! I know that my daughter would not fall in love with a_ quitter!!!! _Now get your ass up!!”_

_“I can’t!” I sobbed “please! I’m so tired! I’m tried of pain! Of death!”_

_”There is always going to be pain and death, Astra,” he reminded me “but have a chance to stop it! Now get up!”_  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Alex**

“Begin chest compressions!” Dr. Hamilton ordered as a nurse began to perform CP

“Come on, come on!” I whispered “come on, you stubborn bitch! Breathe!”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 **Astra**

_“Astra! Get up!” Jeremiah urged “come on!!!” he screamed_

_”Don’t listen to him,” Indigo purred near my ear “just give up, Astra, surrender to the darkness, see how peaceful it is? Just give up”_

 _”Astra!! Get up!!”_  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 **Alex**

“I’m calling it,” Dr. Hamilton announced tiredly “time of death: thirteen thirty hours”

“No!” I lunged, knocking nurses and doctors aside

“Alex! Her heart hasn’t beat in over three minutes! She’s gone!” Dr. Hamltion urged

“You don’t know her,” I snarled as I climbed onto the gurney, straddling Astra’s body and began CPR “come on! Come on! Breathe damn you! Breathe!!!”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 **Astra**

_I looked up, a familiar voice suddenly carrying across the barren landscape around me_

_”Alex?”_

_Yes, that’s it!” Jeremiah cheered “that’s it! Get up, Astra! Follow her home!”_

_Slowly, I put my hand flat on the ground and_ pushed. _Every movement hurt, it was like the worse kind of agony. But I slowly climbed up onto my knees_

_”That’s it,” Jeremiah encouraged as I shakily got to my feet “that’s it”_

__

_”No! Don’t listen to him!” Indigo raged, even as she began to dissolve “don’t listen to him! Listen to me!”_

_I felt a sense of peace come over me as I turned to face her “I’m done listening to you!” I hissed as I drew back a fist and punched her. With a scream, she flew back, shattering like glass against the rocks. Turning back to Jeremiah I stared at him_

_”Come on! This way!” he urged as the landscape suddenly began to tremble, the ground shifting and shaking beneath my feet “here! Here!” Jeremiah led me over to the edge of a cliff, the ground dropping straight down in a misty gorge “you have to jump!” Jeremiah urged_

_I stared at him “What?”_

_He shook his head “No time to explain, just jump!” he urged_

_I looked down into the gorge and then back up at him “Thank you” I whispered_

_”Don’t thank me,” he dismissed “just tell Alex I said hi” he pleaded_

_I nodded. Then, taking a breathe, I jumped…._  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 **Alex**

My arms were aching, my shoulders were screaming from the effort, but I kept at it

“Come on! Breathe damn you!!!” I snarled. Taking a breath, I drew back an arm, ready to do a pericardial thump, basically punching Astra directly in the heart to get her heart started again

But suddenly, just as my hand neared her, a hand suddenly closed around my wrist, stopping me

For a moment I simply stared, watching as the rash covering Astra’s arm slowly faded away, her color slowly returning as she coughed and weakly opened her eyes, giving me a small smile

“You’re father says ‘hi’.” she rasped out…


	7. Emergency Protocols

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Never let me go  
Never let me go  
Deliver me  
Never let me go  
Never let me go  
Deliver me  
Never let me go  
Never let me go  
Deliver me  
Never let me go

\--Florence + the Machine: “Never Let Me Go”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Alex**

For a second I just sat there, staring at Astra as she coughed and wheezed for breath

“Alex…,” she took a breath “you’re on my chest”

“Oh” blinking stupidly, I climbed off her and back onto my feet while Dr. Hamilton and her staff gathered around her, checking her vitals and peppering her with questions about how she felt. I jumped as another alarm suddenly blared out

“That’s the quarantine lab” Lucy exclaimed and I suddenly realized that she was still there

“Oh no,” I felt my gut drop away again “Kara…”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sprinting down the corridor with Lucy, followed by a small army of doctors and nurses, we reached the quarantine lab where Alura and Kara had been. When she saw us, Alura frantically pounded on the glass

“Please! Hurry!”

“Open it!” I ordered

“That’ll break the quarantine!”

“We’re already infected! Now open it!” I snarled. Opening the lab we found Kara curled in corner, shivering violently, her skin cold and clammy and she was ready running a high fever “let’s get her into the infirmary!” I ordered, stamping down my own fear as Alura simply stood there, helplessly watching as we loaded Kara onto a stretcher and wheeled her into the infirmary. We were short on beds, so we wheeled Kara into Astra’s room, which was closest to the quarantine lab.

By the time we got Kara into the lab, the rash had already broken out over her skin and she was clearly having trouble breathing

“All right, prep for intubation!” Dr. Hamilton ordered

“Wait!” I called out “wait!” I grabbed a syringe and marched over to Astra’s bed. Grabbing her arm, I stabbed the syringe down, the needle passing through her skin with ease

“A little warning would have been appreciated” she muttered with a grimace as I drew the plunger back, the syringe filling with Astra’s blood

“Alex! What are you doing?” Lucy asked as I pulled the needle out of Astra’s arm and turned back to Kara, sliding the needle into her arm and pressing the plunger down “will that even work?” Lucy asked, clearly figuring out my so-called ‘plan’

“It’s better than what we had before,” I muttered as Kara suddenly jerked, her back arching as she sucked in a lungful of air, her skin clearing almost instantly as she coughed and gagged before flopping back onto the gurney, unconscious “that’s it,” I realized “Astra’s the cure!”

“I beg your pardon?” Astra asked, staring at me from her bed

“Your blood,” I explained “however it happened, you somehow burned through the virus on your own, you’ve developed an immunity to it”

“Where’s Eliza Danvers?” Astra demanded, somehow making it sound like a command even through it was rasped out

“I’ll find her” Lucy nodded, already halfway out the door

“If we can extract some your antibodies,” I began “then---”

“…you could use my blood to create a cure,” she finished. She frowned as she looked around “Alex,” she began “what happened? What is it?”

“Medusa—the virus—it’s…airborne now,” I explained “the entire city’s been quarantined”

“How many agents are unaffected?” she demanded

“Right now? Just me and Lucy and some of the medical staff,” I explained “everyone else is either in the other iso labs or just too sick to work. We’re all inflected, it’s just Lucy and I are too fucking stubborn to get sick yet”

“Alura?”

I shrugged “Too stubborn to notice she’s sick,” I explained. I took her hand, squeezing tight “I almost lost you,” I whispered “you’re heart stopped beating for three minutes, Astra! You were clinically _dead_ for that time”

She smirked “I’ve been dead before,” she muttered “nothing I can’t handle,” she grunted as she threw back the covers “come, we need to find out what else Cadmus is planning”

“Oh no! Astra you almost _died_ ” I objected

“Has J’onn been incapacitated by this?” she asked

“Yes…” I answered slowly

She nodded “DEO emergency protocol 7A-2: _’In the event that the director-in-charge is incapacitated or otherwise unavailable, all remaining active agents shall act in his or her stead until such time as the DiC can resume their duties’_ ,” she recited “in short: us”

I sighed, realizing that she was right “Come on…”


	8. Wildfire Protocol

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

All alone  
Even when I was a child  
I always knew  
There was something to be frightened of

\--Florence + the Machine: “Breaking Down”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Astra**

“This is ridiculous,” Lucy grumbled “how are four people supposed to run the entire DEO?”

“Without complaint” I growled as we all tried to do the work of at least ten different agents. And that was in addition to Alex’s helping Eliza to synthesize a cure from my blood. I was still weak from my ordeal, and my powers had yet to return. Alura looked about as bad I felt to use an old phrase, but she was like me: persistent as she filled in for Vasquez, monitoring satellite feeds for anything unusual and out of the ordinary. Which, with a deadly virus running rampant throughout the city, was anything but a simple task.

“How’re Alex and Eliza doing on that cure?” Lucy wondered

I sighed “If they had a full staff, it would probably only take a few hours,” I began “but, with most of the medical staff either preoccupied with treating the infected or infected themselves…”

“So, we could find a cure, but it might be too late to do any good” she reasoned

I nodded “Something like that” I muttered an alarm chirped, a security alert appearing on the screen, as security footage of one of the exterior hallways appeared on the monitors. The area was one of the emergency exits that leads to a service hatch topside, which also doubles as an escape hatch. I turned to the controls, pulling up the comms.

“Alex, what are you doing?” I demanded

“ _I’m going to find a cure_ ” she panted out as she tore open the control panel

“Alex! You’re not thinking straight!” I urged “its the virus, you’re running a high fever,” I explained as thermal imaging showed that her body temperature was elevated “Alex! Do not breach the quarantine!”

“ _If I can find Lillian,_ ” she panted out as she began to hotwire the control panel “ _make her see that her master weapon is affecting people as well as aliens, maybe I can get her to give up a cure_ ”

“Alex, you don’t know that!” I urged “please! You’ve said it yourself, we found a cure!”

“ _It’s not working fast enough!_ ” she roared turning to face the camera “ _by time we make enough to cure everyone, half the city could be dead!_ ”

“Alex…,”I took a breath “Alex! Please! Don’t do this!”

She stopped as she put her hand on the handle of the door, once she pulled that door open, even a fraction of an inch the quarantine would be breached. She turned and looked up at the camera, and even through the grainy footage, I could see the sadness in her face

“ _I’m sorry,_ ” she sighed “ _looks like I’ll miss the wedding_ ”

With that she opened the door. Instantly an alarm screamed out

“ _Quarantine breached. Initiating wildfire protocol_ ” the computer announced

“What is ‘wildfire protocol’?” Alura asked as the monitors suddenly went blank. A counter being superimposed on all of them

“Oh no” I moaned as the alarm blared once more

“ _Auto self-destruct initiated. Reactor overload in…sixty minutes_ ”

“That’s what the wildfire protocol is,” I explained “full sterilization, completely destroy the source of infection to prevent it from spreading to the city”

“But the city’s already infected” Alura objected

“The computer doesn’t know that,” I explained “all it knows is that the DEO’s quarantine has been breached”

“Uh, guys?” Lucy pointed to the monitors “I think the computer _does_ know that city’s infected”

“ _Secondary containment protocols initiated. Thermonuclear warhead launches in….ten minutes_ ” the computer announced

“We have a nuke?!” Lucy demanded as I pulled up the exterior camera footage, watching as Alex sprinted away from the base across the desert sands

“So, what do we do now?” Alura asked

“I don’t know” I admitted

“ _ **Well, maybe I can help on that front**_ ”

We turned at the voice, seeing J’onn standing behind us. He grinned, spreading his arms as his green skin glinted in the overhead lights “ _ **well, don’t look so shocked**_ ” he commented….  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Alex**

Getting into the city from the DEO on foot was harder than it sounded. Especially since Astra was right, I was running a fever and probably wasn’t thinking straight. But I needed to find that bitch Lillian. Granted I had no idea _how_ to find her.

Crossing into the city proper I found that the streets were deserted. Cars simply sat in the middle of the road, some still running, some not, while others looked like their drivers had lost control, a small row of pile ups stretched down the road out of my sight.

Taking a breath, I started walking…  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Astra**

For a second I simply stared at J’onn, momentarily forgetting the dire situation we were all in

“You’re all right,” I realized “the cure…it….worked?”

“Only on J’onn, I’m afraid,” Eliza explained as she came up behind him “Winn and the other’s still haven’t responded yet” she explained

“What about Kara?” Alura asked

“So far it’s touch and go,” Eliza explained “she’s not getting better, but she’s not getting any worse at least,” she nodded to J’onn “on a more positive note, the cure seems to have stabilized J’onn’s genetic structure, so he won’t transform into a White Martian, thankfully”

“Wait, what?” I stared between them “what are you talking about?”

“ _ **M’gann’s blood,**_ ” J’onn explained “ _ **during the war, the White Martians experimented on us, they found a way to turn us into White Martians like them using their blood**_

I sighed “I didn’t know, I’m sorry, J’onn” I apologized

“ _ **It’s all right**_ ” he dismissed

I turned to Lucy “Exactly how long was I unconscious?” I demanded as an alarm blared out again

“ _Reactor overload in…fifty minutes. Thermonuclear launch in…five minutes_ ” the computer announced

J’onn looked up, surprised “ _ **What happened?**_ ” he demanded

“Alex breached the quarantine;” I explained “she’s out in the city somewhere trying to find Lillian Luthor”

“How do we shut this thing off?” Lucy demanded

J’onn shook his head as he shifted back into his human form “It can’t be shut down,” he explained “not from here anyway. The wildfire protocol is meant to be failsafe, to prevent any enemy force from gaining a foothold in the city or the DEO”

“Wonderful idea,” I cheered sarcastically “now, turn it off”

“I told you, it can’t be shut off from here,” J’onn explained “only the President or a high-ranking member of Army Intelligence can shut it off”

I turned to the controls, pulling up the comms.

“ _Access denied. All outside communications have been restricted under Wildfire Protocol_ ” the computer informed me

“Damn it! What genus thought up this brilliant idea?!” I demanded

“The same type of person who thought up Myriad,” J’onn reminded me “desperate times call for desperate measures”

“Hensahw” I spat

He nodded “Most likely”

“Well,” I began as I rooted out in the wires and circuits under the communications panel “fortunately, I’m nothing like him. Get me some wire cutters,” I instructed “J’onn? If we survive this, you and I are going to have a long discussion about nuclear proliferation…”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Alex**

Finding Lillian and the rest of her goons was surprisingly easy

I went to the alien bar where it all started.

Two of Cadmus’ goons stopped me outside. I wiped a bit of sweat off my forehead as I wobbled a bit in front of them

“Where’s Luthor?” I demanded. One of them frowned and glanced at his buddy before jerking his head back

“Inside” he grunted to me, roughly grabbing my arm and hauling me inside. The inside of bar was deserted and frighteningly silent. An impromptu command center had been set up by the bar itself, Lillian and two technicians looked up as I staggered in

“Agent Danvers,” Lillian nodded to me “hmm, you don’t look well. Must be that nasty bug that’s going around”

“You need to work on your lines,” I muttered as I collapsed into a stool by the bar “Medusa going airborne was part of the plan wasn’t it?” I reasoned “incite fear and panic, and once half the city’s infected, wait until the military decides to do something drastic to contain the outbreak, like say, dropping a nuke on the city. Once that’s done, you can pin the blame on aliens, claim that the virus was mutated by aliens into a weapon that affects Human as revenge. Am I getting warm?”

Lillian smirked “Very observant,” she noted “but, how do you explain the fact that our people are not affected?”

“Oh, that’s simple; you all inoculated yourselves before infecting Astra. That way, once the virus went airborne, you wouldn’t be affected and could keep going. Like a bunch of demented Energizer bunnies”

“And I suppose you think that you’re going to force a cure out of me?” she challenged

I shook my head, which made me dizzy “Nah, already found out,” I explained “actually, I was hoping to just beat the shit out of you”

“And how can you do that?” she wondered “look at yourself, you can barely stand”

I smirked and promptly disabled her two goons, before I pinned her to the bar. She gasped and moaned, clutching her right arm

“You broke my fucking arm!” she snarled as I braced my leg against her back, digging the syringe out of my pocket

“There are two hundred and fifty bones in the human body,” I told her “that’s one. Now hold still!” grunting I swiftly stabbed her in the neck, injecting her before her goons recovered and pulled me off her. Straightening to her feet, Lillian fingered her neck, wincing as she glared at me, before she suddenly coughed

“What did you do to me?” she demanded

I grinned “I just gave you a taste of your own medicine,” I explained “see, I just injected you with a sample of Astra’s blood. Only in her case Medusa mutated again, meaning that your little inoculation won’t work this time”

I watched as she coughed harder, wheezing for breath as a familiar rash began crawling up her hands and neck

“Do, do you think that this’ll force me to give you a cure?” she demanded as her goons and the two technicians swiftly succumbed to the effects of the stronger, airborne strain of Medusa that she was now carrying

“No,” I answered “actually, I was hoping to just get the satisfaction of watching you die…”


	9. Red Rain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update! Enjoy! :=)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Lay me down  
Let the only sound  
Be the overflow

\--Florence + the Machine: “What The Water Gave Me”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Astra**

“ _Reactor overload in…thirty minutes_ ” the computer announced as J’onn and I hurriedly tried to bypass the communications block

“Where’s the splice?” I demanded

“Here” he hurriedly handed me a splice allowing me to splice two wires together

“Anything?” I asked

“No,” Lucy replied “damn it! We need Winn!” she cursed

“Somebody call me?”

We all looked over as a still-pale looking Winn stumbled in, helped by Eliza

“He’s still a little weak,” she explained as she hurriedly led him over to J’onn and myself “but he’s cured. Turns out the cure takes longer to work on Humans than aliens”

“Never mind that,” I dismissed as I steadied Winn “we need you to get us at least partial communications back” I urged

“Yeah, yeah,” he groaned, wincing as he crouched down and rewired several wires “OK, that’s it”

“All right, here’s hoping that works” I muttered as I crawled out from under the console and pulled up the comms.

“ _Partial commutations restored_ ” the computer announced

“Yes!” Lucy hissed as I pulled up a satellite feed, focusing on the military command post outside the city. There was a burst of static and then General Lane appeared on the monitors

“Genera Lane, this is Astra In-ze,” I called out “we have something a situation here”

“ _That’s putting it mildly, Agent,_ ” he commented “ _what do you need?_ ”

“We need you to shut down the Wildfire Protocol,” I explained “we already have a cure for the virus; we just need time to make enough for everyone”

He nodded grimly “ _Give me remote access to your systems_ ”

I hurriedly typed in the necessary commands “Done”

“ _Understood_ ” on the screen the commands were hurriedly typed in, even as the counter continued ticking down

 _Thermonuclear launch in…four minutes,_ ” the computer announced. There was a chirp “ _access code accepted. Thermonuclear launch….canceled. Wildfire protocol…disabled. Reactor overload disengaged_ ”

We all breathed a sigh of relief “General Lane,” I began “you’re in my will”

He chuckled “ _Noted, Agent In-ze. How’s Lucy?_ ”

“Right here, Dad” Lucy held up a hand. Lane looked visibly relived at the sight of her well and more or less unharmed

“ _I’m hoping that you weren’t kidding about that cure, Agent In-ze_ ” he commented

I smirked “No, General, I wasn’t…”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Alex**

“You realize that this’ll kill you as well?” Lillian gasped out as she shivered and trembled on the bar floor

“Probably,” I admitted “of course, you could give me a cure and I’ll be on my way”

She laughed bitterly “And you call _me_ insane”

One of the technicians weakly looked up “Mrs. Luthor,” he wheezed “something…something’s happening….missile from the DEO” he panted out, nodding towards the radar screen, a missile coming from the DEO was swiftly arcing towards the city

Still feeling like my legs were made of Jell-O I stumbled and staggered to the door, leaning against the frame and watching as the missile streaked past over the buildings, before suddenly exploding over the city center, a bright red cloud expanding out from the blast to form into a red rain that poured down. Almost as soon as it touched me, I felt my head clear, the chills and aches that had been bothering me for the past few hours dissipated and I could suddenly breathe easier

“They did it” I realized

“Yes. They did” turning, I jumped back just in time as a now-revitalized Lillian swung out at me with a barstool. Stumbling back, I scurried away from her crab-style as she raised the barstool up above her head, ready to cave _my_ head in…

Just then the back wall suddenly exploded in. figures in black suddenly pouring in through the haze of smoke and dust. I watched as Lillian turned to face the invaders, gasping as Astra, dressed in full tactical gear, approached her

Astra grinned at Lillian “Remember me?” she swung suddenly the butt of her rifle into Lillian’s face, breaking her nose and knocking her to the floor “General Lane, she’s all yours,” she called out over her comm. as she approached me “are you all right?” she asked.

I groaned as I stared at her, my vision already starting to blur “Easy, love, easy,” she soothed “you’re exhausted, don’t fight it. Just rest” she explained

Rest. I could do that I thought as darkness surrounded me…


	10. R&R

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Triple update! The final chapter! Enjoy! :=)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Alex**

“ _….in the Serengeti, lions are one of many predators who roam the plains, alongside other big cats, such as the cheetah and the leopard_ ”

It was the voice of David Attenborough of all things that woke me. Blinking I weakly opened my eyes to see the ceiling of the DEO infirmary above me, turning I saw that the TV over the bed next to was showing a documentary about Africa

“Sorry, did I wake you?”

Blinking, I turned to see Astra lying in the bed next to me. She picked up the remote for the TV and turned down the volume and gave me a small smile “how are you feeling?” she asked

“Tired,” I groaned “how long was I out?”

“Close to two days,” she answered “you had us all worried for a while there, we were afraid that it was too late, that Medusa had reached the point of no return for you. Fortunately not”

I nodded, still a little too sleepy to fully understand her “Kara?” I asked

“Over here”

Rolling over, I found Kara grinning at me from the bed on the other side of mine “Hey,” I grinned “how’re you feeling?”

“OK,” she nodded “but I’ve been forced to watch nothing but PBS for the last two days since Aunt Astra’s got the remote” she pouted

“It’s educational, Kara,” Astra called out “far better viewing material that _Game of Thrones_ in my opinion”

I chuckled “How’re Alura and Winn and the others?” I wondered

“Across the hall” Kara pointed. Lifting my head—which took a lot of effort—I saw Lucy, Alura, and Winn all in a room across from ours. Lucy and Winn both waved as they saw me, while Alura nodded politely. Letting my head fall back down I turned to Kara

“James?” I asked

“He’s in NC General, recovering,” she answered “Ms. Grant even sent him a get well card”

“Wow,” I muttered “she must be sick,” I winced as I turned to Astra “so it worked? The cure?”

She nodded “It worked,” she confirmed “there were some deaths sadly, mostly from car accidents, Medusa became airborne during rush hour it seems, but in all, we won. No one from DEO died thankfully and nor did any of General Lane’s men”

I nodded “And Lillian?”

“Taken into custody by the Army,” Astra nodded “General Lane assures me that he’s going to do everything in his power to make sure that she---how did he phrase it?—oh yes, _’learns how a hamster feels’_ ,” she shrugged “I’m not entirely sure what that means, but I’ll assume that it means that she won’t be bothering us for a while”

“And Cadmus?” I wondered

“Without Lillian as its guiding force, they appeared to have fractured and gone underground for the moment” she explained

I nodded “Good to know,” I sighed and shifted, trying to find a more comfortable position “guess that old saying’s true: all’s well that ends well”

“Not for you, I’m afraid,” Astra began “J’onn was…most displeased that you broke the quarantine”

“Yeah,” Kara added “he said that once he’s through with you, and I quote: _’Medusa will seem like a cakewalk’_. His words, not mine”

I chuckled “Oh, well, can’t win ‘em all,” I decided “I’m just glad I got you both back”

Astra smirked “And we’re glad that _we_ got _you_ back, love”

“Yeah, what she said,” Kara added, she pouted “Aunt Astra, since Alex is awake now, could we _please_ watch something other than PBS?” she pleaded

Astra sighed “Oh, very well,” she turned the TV to _Game of Thrones_ “there. Satisfied?”

“Yep!” Kara grinned

I just shook my head, too tired to watch and too tired to really interact with the world at the moment. I had them back, I reminded myself. We won. That was all that mattered…

**END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it! We're finally done with Part Fourteen of What we are and now onto Part FIFTEEN!!! Hooray!! Sorry this one took so long to update, but its finished now, I hope you all enjoyed the ride and I hope that you'll stay with me for Part Fifteen and my other fics and original works :=)
> 
> Thanks
> 
> \--AXEe


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